Vivaldi Park Ski World

Although Daemyung Resort Vivaldi Park is located in Gangwon-do province, it’s only just across the provincial boundary and the direct shuttle buses take 90 minutes from Seoul so it’s just as easy to access as e.g. Bears Town Resort in Gyeonggi-do province (in fact, from most of Seoul it’s actually easier, as the shuttle leaves from Myeongdong, plus there’s no walk at the end). Vivaldi Park is also the largest hill you can hit using free shuttle buses from Seoul, as there’s a free shuttle bus service specifically for foreign visitors (see below for details)

Vivaldi Park is the flagship resort of the Daemyung leisure resort group, and is pretty much the textbook example of the typical ski resort business model in Korea; a huge hotel, condo & mall development nestled in the mountains, with a golf course, a water park (Ocean World, apparently modelled on Ancient Egypt for some reason), and the ski area all attached. The whole thing is officially called Daemyung Resort Vivaldi Park, but it’s generally referred to simply as Vivaldi Park (by skiers & boarders, anyway)

Vivaldi Park: the hill

Size-wise, the ski area is middling by Korean standards; significantly smaller than the main Gangwon-do resorts further east in Pyeongchang / Taebaek, but larger than the local Seoul hills, it offers a good balance between ease of access and standard of resort. The base facilities are excellent, and the lift system very impressive for such a modest scale resort – it has what must be the most gratuitous gondola this author has yet seen! (surely more valuable for the uplift capacity it provides than anything to do with terrain access)

In addition to the gondola which takes you from base to top in excessive comfort, the main chairlift does exactly the same route (but without needing to unstrap & enter the building), and a few other chairs go partway up. In other words, there’s one base area and one top station, and you have half a dozen routes down.

It’s pretty easygoing terrain with mostly gentle gradients, so Vivaldi Park is a good hill for beginners and low intermediates; it has little to offer for upper intermediates and more advanced riders, except for the noteable exception of one of Korea’s few halfpipes.

There’s no terrain park though, so the only freestyle option is the halfpipe; if you’re looking for the closest halfpipe to Seoul, this is it.

Vivaldi Park is good for:

Access. It’s the most convenient Gangwon-do hill (along with Elysian) and the only Gangwon-do hill with a free tourist shuttle bus.

Learners & low intermediates.

Has a halfpipe (one of only three in Korea, and the closest to Seoul)

Open until 5am(!)

Vivaldi Park is not so good for:

Riding park, because it doesn’t have one.

Vivaldi Park lift tickets

Although it doesn’t quite have the fully flexible ticketing on offer at Konjiam and Elysian Gangchon, Vivaldi Park has a more flexible system than most Korean ski resorts, with a wide range of time slots available as listed here, with prices ranging from 55,000 won (for 5 hours starting at midnight!) to 88,000 for 8.5 hours.

They have the standard 90-minute snow grooming break, at 5pm, but apart from that they’re open from 8:30am to a pretty amazing 5am i.e. 19 hours a day!

Vivaldi Park: accommodation

Vivaldi Park has a huge resort development at the base with several condo towers surrounded by the ski slopes, golf course, and water park. You can search and book their rooms here

Most visitors will probably want to stay in Seoul and take the free tourist shuttle bus to Vivaldi Park from Myeongdong (see below for access details); for the best rates, search Agoda for hotel deals in Seoul

Airbnb is also a great choice for Seoul – hosts usually have it set up so you can arrive & check in by yourself without having to wait around or meet anyone, and the housing standards are decent with underfloor heating and excellent internet connections as standard. If you haven’t used Airbnb before, you can get a 35-dollar discount off your first rental by signing up through Snow Guide Korea; simply click on this link and register

How to get to Vivaldi Park

Take the free shuttle bus; it goes from Euljiro Il-ga Station (Line 2) near Myeongdong, and you just need to make a reservation on their website. The bus leaves at 10am and returns at 6pm, and takes about 90 minutes; see their site for full details here (you can also board at Hongdae Station and Samseong Station)

Although poorly photographed here, there’s some nice scenery on the shuttle bus ride

There are also direct highway buses from Dong Seoul Bus Station next to Line 2’s Gangbyeon Station. This was the timetable in the 2016/17 season (click to enlarge):

Left column is Dong Seoul to Vivaldi Park, right column is the reverse. Adult price listed as 6,800 won. Obviously, these details are subject to change so double-check beforehand (usefully they’re also given on Vivaldi Park’s site here, at the bottom of the page)

There are also local resort shuttles from Obin Station and Yongmun Station, both on Seoul Metro’s Jungang Line (Yongmun is the easternmost stop of the Seoul Metro):

Obin in red, Yongmun in blue; in both cases, bus to Vivaldi is the left column, return bus is the right column (click to enlarge)

Furthermore, there’s a paid shuttle from the city of Chuncheon (click to enlarge):

2,800 won, 40 minutes, departure times from Chuncheon on the left, return times on the right.

These last few shuttle bus options are unlikely to be of use to most visitors, but should you happen to be based in those areas it means you don’t have to go all the way into Seoul only to come all the way back out in almost the same direction!

There are also shuttles from the nearby town of Hongcheon (click to enlarge):

Vivaldi Park has typically large and well-catered base facilities:

As well as this very random statue at the top of the gondola:

Any questions about Vivaldi Park? Leave a comment below! (but don’t ask about that statue – I have no idea!)

For more Gangwon-do resorts, see here; for full reviews of every Korean ski resort, see here

Hi, there’s a little office at the bus stop area where you can buy tickets (if they’re closed for some reason you’ll be able to pay the driver directly). And yes don’t worry about communicating, the staff understand enough English for you to buy the right ticket.

Hi Will, there are a bunch of places nearby in Hongcheon, but none of them are quite easy slope access – you’d need to take a taxi (or there may perhaps be a local bus). At the actual resort, it really is just a purpose-built mega resort standing there with nothing else in the immediate vicinity. You can search here for places in Hongcheon. Another option you might want to consider is High1, it’s further away but the town of Gohan has a good range of accommodation close to the resort (there are regular shuttle buses from town up to the slopes)

Hi Simon, thanks for all the information you have put up. How may I check if Vivaldi or other resorts will be open around 18-23 March? Am hoping for some Spring skiing. Also, is it possible to organise an English ski lesson for my 5 year old ahead of arriving?

Hi Vanessa, hard to say in Vivaldi’s case, that tends to be around the time they close. Same for Welli Hilli Park; they won’t announce their closing dates until closer to the time, as it depends on weather conditions between now & then. At this stage the only 2 resorts I can 100% confidently say will be open in late March are Yongpyong and High1. As for booking a lesson in advance, you’d need to contact the resorts directly to enquire (or book a package trip with lessons included). Please be aware that 5 years old is too young for lessons at many ski resorts – again, you’ll need to enquire to each resort directly for a definite answer on that. (if they say no, you can go snow sledding instead)

Hi! Im from malaysia, planning to go to Snowy land vivaldi on 2 feb, may i know how much is the price? Do we need to rent the equipment? And for kids age 2 years old, do we need to pay for the ticket? Hope to hear from u soon. Tq

Hi..im planning to visit a ski resort for a day trip. Going with my kids age 9,6 and 4. Would vivaldi be good for us? Is there any ski sled for rental and convenient places for children to play in vivaldi? For entrance is it better to book online with the packages or just walk in to the resort and select the packages. In terms of prices would it be a huge difference by booking online compared to self walk-in.

Yes, Vivaldi Park is a good fit for a family day trip. You can rent sleds there, and there’s an underground shopping mall with various cafes & shops etc. It’s fine to just walk in to the resort and pay for sledding tickets & rentals at the ticket window, and you can go there on the free shuttle bus as described above (just remember to book in advance as per the instructions on the shuttle bus site); this will be cheaper than booking an all-in-one package online. Obviously the packages are convenient though, and the hotel pickup might be a benefit depending where you’re staying (if you self-book the free shuttle bus, it leaves from Euljiro 1-ga Station, which is walking distance from Myeongdong)

To be honest there isn’t that much to do… but if you can’t ski, maybe you could try sledding instead. You can also buy a sightseeing ticket to go up the gondola and see the views from the top. If you do those two things, it should keep you entertained for a few hours. Apart from that, there’s also an underground mall (it’s kind of under the parking area in front of the main building) where you can hang out in cafes, shops etc

Hi! Planning to go to Vivaldi on Feb 10 to watch the Riding Concert at 8PM. What time is the last shuttle bus from Vivaldi going to Obin Station or Hongcheon Bus Terminal so I can go back to Seoul? Just wanted to make sure I still have a ride going back to Seoul. Or are there taxis in Vivaldi that can take me to the nearest subway/MRT station? Thanks!

Hi Monica, according to last season’s schedule the last shuttle to Hongcheon is at 10pm (I’m afraid I have no quick way to check if the schedule has changed since then). However, I have no idea until what time buses run from Hongcheon to Seoul, and also Hongcheon is going the wrong direction from Vivaldi Park to Seoul… in other words, I think the best option is probably to take a taxi to Yongmun Station and ride the train from there. The taxi would be about 50000 won (it’s 25km), and take about 30 minutes. On Saturdays the last trains from Yongmun back to Seoul are at 23:01 for Yongsan, and 23:21 for Cheongnyangni. You’ll need to book the taxi in advance to pick you up, as there aren’t usually taxis just waiting around there.

Hi Monica, sorry I just meant to say that Hongcheon is further away from Seoul than Vivaldi Park is, so the route via Yongmun is more direct.

But the route you’ve described should work (and means you can take the free shuttle, instead of paying for a taxi to Yongmun), as long as you make sure to check 2 things – first, does the concert finish in time to catch the 10pm shuttle? and, more importantly, what time is the last bus from Hongcheon to Dong Seoul?

Oh, one more thing – the last train from Gangbyeon to Myeongdong on Saturday is 23:29, and if you go at 10pm Vivaldi Park > Hongcheon > Dong Seoul, you’re not going to make that last subway train so you’ll have to take a taxi to Myeongdong (should be around 15000 won)

It’s not really necessary to book any package – if you’re happy to follow the DIY transportation instructions above (i.e. use the free shuttle from Myeongdong) then you can just go there yourself and buy the lift tickets, rental, lesson etc when you arrive. Of course if you prefer the convenience of a package you can do that too, but I never have so I can’t recommend a particular company

Hi, do I need to pay entrance fee to enter the ski park for people who not skiing? Since I am beginner, I plan not to take the lift but just try to experience skiing. Is the any area for me to enjoy ski without taking lift?

Hi my hubby and I will be travelling to Seoul for the 1st time, arriving on 8 March. I’d tried to contact Vivaldi Park earlier but it’s been 2 weeks and there’s no reply from them. Would like to find out if the ski season is still open ie. Can we still ski there? We are beginners and hope to take ski/snowboard lessons there. Pls advise. Thanks!

Hi Simon, we are staying in a hotel in Myeongdong. I plan to bring my daughter and sister with me to Vivaldi Park this Friday, Feb 16,2018 as it’s a major holiday and the malls are closed. May I know when are the bus schedules from Myeongdong to Vivaldi Park and back to Myeongdong. Thank you and God bless! 😉

Hi Beth, there are 2 free shuttles from Myeongdong at 8:00am from Lotte Hotel (Euljiro 1-ga Station) and 10:30 from Shinsegae department store. See here for the details and to make a reservation – advance reservation is required so do that ASAP